BEWARE THE COUNTERFEIT RAPTURE!. Sandra Ghost

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СКАЧАТЬ Leesburg, Virginia. Long rows of air traffic controllers sat in a huge room watching the large radarscopes which displayed air traffic for their sectors. The long sweeping hand of the beacons on the screens could become mesmerizing. Several people were clustered behind one particular controller, all examining the scope. "This is really weird," he scratched his head. "There were three blips that suddenly appeared on the screen--no transponder signature--close to the checkpoint in Linden...over Front Royal. They maneuvered together too fast for aircraft. Then they evaporated off the screen in one sweep. Gone!"

      "Could have been an anomaly," one of those gathered offered.

      The shift duty officer patted his shoulder. "Sure, sure, Charlie. Maybe you oughta' cut down on the Budweiser on those days off."

      The time was 11:05 AM.

      CHAPTER TWO

      The Wilson's dining room was formal. A long mahogany Queen Anne period table and matching chairs stretched the length of the room. Antique cut crystal pieces sparkled behind a huge beveled glass breakfront in one corner. An elaborate Queen Anne sideboard, which had belonged to Marianne's mother, spanned one wall; on it, a large silver tea service was regally centered on the expanse of cherry wood, which had been polished to a rich, warm patina. A Waterford crystal chandelier, suspended over the table, caught the sunlight in its winking prisms. The table was set informally with linen place mats instead of a cloth, and paper napkins.

      Marianne and Lee carried large platters of thickly sliced roast beef and steaming corn on the cob to the table. Jesse followed behind them with a bowl of mashed potatoes and the gravy boat. Scarlett, her father, and Lance were still in the living room; the Sunday paper was scattered all over the floor like the aftermath of a ticker tape parade. Scarlett, needlepoint pillows propped behind her head, was curled up on the love seat. She was reading her horoscope.

      Lee leaned into the room through the archway, "Come on, you guys. It's on the table."

      Once everyone was seated, Marianne asked, "Jesse, will you say the blessing for us?"

      The silence seemed momentarily awkward, and then, "Father, we praise and thank you for this food, and for all of the blessings You've given us. Keep our family close to You by the power of the Holy Spirit, that each of us might know You personally, Jesus..." At this point Scarlett looked up slyly toward her father. His eyes weren't closed either. He winked at her. "Keep us ever watchful for Jesus' soon return...and take care of our family through any coming crises, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen."

      Horace reached for the rolls. "I'd appreciate it if you didn't preach a sermon, Jesse, in place of a simple blessing. The food's begun to grow mold on it."

      Scarlett giggled as she helped herself to an ear of corn. She gestured toward the tall brass candelabra in the center of the table, "We'd have lit the candles if we'd known ya'll were gonna' say mass," she told her brother.

      "Don't start," Marianne warned. "This is going to be a nice family dinner." The meat platter was passed around the table.

      "Well, I'm starting to get ready in case we have to do without electricity," Lance announced. "I buried two 1,000 gallon propane tanks today. Once they're filled, I'll have enough fuel to cook, heat the chalet, and have hot water for at least a year or so." He reached for the butter. "Got a propane generator coming to hook into the main with a transfer switch and run my lights, spark the propane furnace, run the well pump. We should make my place the family compound." He looked around the table to see how his idea was received. "The chalet will be totally self-sustaining."

      "Has the whole world lost its mind?" Horace's face began to redden. "All this stuff about gloom and doom is just hype, son. Our government will be on this and if we go to war with North Korea we'll whip their pants off. They'll take care of it."

      "Just who are 'they', Dad?" Jesse asked. "If you think it's the government, in 2015 the Pentagon spent $700 billion to take all the NORAD computer assets and squirreled them below Cheyenne Mountain underground to protect their stuff. I just got an email this morning from Newsmax saying that the former director of the CIA, James Woolsey, is warning that North Korea poses an immediate threat to the United States. He says Pyongyang can strike the U.S. mainland today using a nuclear device delivered via satellite. If detonated, such a device could kill as much as 90 percent of the U.S. population within one year. So, just who is the 'they' who's going to fix it? Certainly doesn't seem like it's our government."

      "Well, Bill Gates will pull some rabbit out of the hat at the last minute, you just wait and see," Horace blustered.

      Lance interjected, "Haven't you been reading the papers, watching TV? That's what lit a fire under me to prepare. They can't get it fixed in time--there is no quick fix!"

      Jesse smiled. "Dad, you just don't understand the overwhelming extent of the problem. It's mainly centered in the microchips. There are billions of microchips embedded in the power grids all over the country...they're in the telephone connections...pressure reduction regulators in natural gas lines." He looked around the table.." Every generator has microchips which will fry with an EMP. Think of it....all hospitals have generators, people are buying generators thinking to protect their homes if the power does go down. But that is not a solution! The microchips frying will render the generators impotent! No newer car will run so you can't 'bug out'. Unless someone can take the covers off the generators and Faraday Cage those microchips with copper prior to attack nothing will run."

      "Do I hear you saying we won't be able to get groceries if truck engines have microchips, son?"

      Jesse pushed his empty plate away and reached for the coffee. "That's a weighty and very intelligent question, Mom. Let's think it through. Even if we find some engineer able to manufacture and install the copper protective Faraday cages for the chips in generators, plus electronics in cars and trucks, it will only put a temporary Band-Aid on the problem. At some point in time, Mother, our ability to refine the gasoline without electricity will cease all transportation ."

      "I see," she said gravely, hoping Horace had taken note that their son had said it was an 'intelligent question'."

      "Well, the government just won't let this happen, that's all there is to it!" Horace told the family.

      "You can wrap yourself in the American flag, Dad, but don't count on the government coming up with an answer. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the IRS are all going up in smoke."

      "Social Security?" The discussion suddenly turned a corner and hit Horace in the wallet.

      His father's eyes widened behind the thick glasses. He pursed his lips tightly.

      "Dad," it was the first time Lee had spoken, "you need to get hard copies of your bank records and call the Social Security office."

      "I just can't believe this," Horace sputtered. He reached for Marianne's hand under the table.

      "We could live very comfortably on my stock dividends if we had to. I have a pretty significant portfolio built up."

      Lee shifted in her chair and leaned slightly forward. She was thirty-five years old, but looked like a teenager--her appearance was a surprise to many customers in her capacity as Senior Vice President of a bank. Her hazel eyes, which occasionally chameleoned to green, now appeared solemn. "I don't know if I've told you or not, but I'm the Operations Officer for the bank. That also makes me the Compliance Officer, directly under the supervision of the Federal auditors."

      Where's she going with this? Horace wondered. It wasn't often his daughter-in-law СКАЧАТЬ